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G-SYNC 101: Hidden Benefits of High Refresh Rate G-SYNC

Published Jun 20, 2017 by in: G-SYNC

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Often overlooked is G-SYNC’s ability to adjust the refresh rate to lower fixed framerates. This can be particularly useful for games hard-locked to 60 FPS, and has potential in emulators to replicate unique signals such as the 60.1Hz of NES games, which would otherwise be impossible to reproduce. And due to the scanout speed increase at 100Hz+ refresh rates, an input lag reduction can be had as well…

Blur Buster's G-SYNC 101: Input Lag & Optimal Settings

The results show a considerable input lag reduction on a 144Hz G-SYNC display @60 FPS vs. a 60Hz G-SYNC display @58 FPS with first on-screen reactions measured (middle screen would show about half this reduction). And while each frame is still rendered in 16.6ms, and delivered in intervals of 60 per second on the higher refresh rate display, they are scanned in at a much faster 6.9ms per.

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3699 Comments For “G-SYNC 101”

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ItapL
Member
ItapL

In the Windows graphics settings, there’s an option for “Variable Refresh Rate.” Should I turn this on? (I’m not using an English version of Windows, so I’m not sure what the exact label says.)

My monitor has a real-time refresh rate display, but when I enable both G-SYNC and V-SYNC, it always shows the maximum refresh rate of 320 Hz in games — it doesn’t change dynamically. My G-SYNC settings are configured correctly, and V-SYNC is forced on through NVIDIA Profile Inspector.

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16 minutes 14 seconds ago
tearxinnuan
Member
tearxinnuan

Thank you very much for your article and tutorial! I’ve set up the appropriate settings according to your article, but I still have some questions I’d like to ask!

First, my current settings are:
NVCP: G-SYNC + V-SYNC on, LLM off,
In Game: Reflex on + boost, V-SYNC off

I believe this setup is optimal for GSYNC usage. I don’t limit my frame rate using any external software or NVCP. When I enable Reflex in-game, it automatically caps my frame rate at 260 FPS (my monitor is 280Hz). I think relying solely on Reflex to limit my frame rate would be more straightforward than setting it separately, and perhaps also avoid conflicts and instability caused by multiple frame limits. Secondly, I’ve personally tested the games I play, and Reflex takes precedence over both the in-game and NVCP frame limits. That is, no matter how much I limit my frame rate, once Reflex is enabled, it caps it at 260 FPS.

I primarily play competitive games like Valve, APEX, and Overwatch, but I also occasionally play other single-player games. Then, the competitive games I play all have Reflex, so can I completely abandon all external frame limiting methods and rely solely on Reflex?

Also, regarding LLM in NVCP, should I set it on or off, or even set it to Ultra? I’m not sure if there are any advantages or disadvantages to turning LLM on, even though Reflex takes over a lot of the processing. There’s a lot of controversy online about LLM, and even NVIDA officials claim that setting LLM to Ultra will minimize V-SYCN latency.

Looking forward to your answers!

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1 month 8 days ago
jorimt
Author
jorimt

I actually answered another visitor on this recently. Please scroll to the bottom of this comments section, click the “Load All Comments” button, and page search “Elessar.”

If you have any follow-up questions, feel free to to reply in your comment again.

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1 month 6 days ago
tearxinnuan
Member
tearxinnuan

Thank you. After reading this, I think LLM is unnecessary for me.

My framerate in most games often exceeds my screen refresh rate, so I shouldn’t be GPU-bound. Plus, the competitive games I frequently play have Reflex, so I’ll just rely on that. LLM might cause stuttering or make the 1% low performance worse. I hate sudden stuttering and frame drops while gaming!

Is my thinking correct?

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2 days 2 hours ago
jorimt
Author
jorimt

Yes, Reflex is superior to LLM and is considered its direct replacement, where available.

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1 day 22 hours ago
dimacbka
Member
dimacbka

Hi. I really liked this article. But I have a couple of questions. I have a new PC that gives 800 fps in cs2. How do I set up this gsync+vsync+reflex bundle correctly? My monitor is 280Hz. I’m confused, do I need to limit frames via the nvidia panel? Yesterday I turned on “delay” on Ultra and reflex+boost. In the game, the frames were around 260. With the fps_max parameter 0

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1 month 18 days ago
jorimt
Author
jorimt

I have a new PC that gives 800 fps in cs2. How do I set up this gsync+vsync+reflex bundle correctly?

Optimal G-SYNC settings are available for repeat reference here:
https://blurbusters.com/gsync/gsync101-input-lag-tests-and-settings/14/

They are in a descending if/else structure, prioritizing lowest tear-free latency.

Yesterday I turned on “delay” on Ultra and reflex+boost. In the game, the frames were around 260. With the fps_max parameter 0

G-SYNC + NVCP V-SYNC + LLM “Ultra” or Reflex will set an automatic ~260 FPS limit at 280Hz to keep the framerate within the VRR range of your monitor.

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1 month 17 days ago
mike-lesnik
Member
mike-lesnik

Hello, jorimt! My question is more about input delay than G-sync, but I decided to ask it here because I really like your style of response — simple and clear.
I don’t quite understand what role frametime plays in input delay? It is often written that frametime is the time needed to create a frame, but 60 frames of 16.6 ms each can be created by either an underloaded or overloaded GPU. On the screen, we see the same framerate and frametime in both cases, but the resulting input delay will be different…
That is, the frametime is not “the time it took the system (CPU-OS-Engine-GPU) to create the frame”, but “the time allotted for displaying the frame by the display before the next one appears”?

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1 month 21 days ago
jorimt
Author
jorimt

Simply put, frametime signifies how long it took a frame to render, not to display; a frame could render in 16.6ms or 1ms, but then buffering could cause a delivery offset that prevents said frame (and the input contained within it) from appearing in (or closer to) real-time on your display.

Regardless of the amount of buffering, rendered frames are delivered in sequence; the less the buffering, the closer your last input is to being displayed in real-time, the more the buffering, the more it delays display of your last input.

As such, average frametime only determines average framerate and its consistency, not whether it is or isn’t out of visible and/or audible sync with your inputs.

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1 month 20 days ago
mike-lesnik
Member
mike-lesnik

As such, average frametime only determines average framerate and its consistency, not whether it is or isn’t out of visible and/or audible sync with your inputs.

But doesn’t fps (and low frame time) directly affect input lag?
After all, it is believed that the higher the fps (and lower the frame time), the more often frames replace each other, and therefore the less time is allocated to display one frame, and therefore the faster a new frame with a new input result will start to be displayed.
And isn’t it true that “at the moment of unstable frame lag (for example, a jump from 5 ms to 30 ms), we essentially get additional input lag, since the delivery of the next frame (on which the new input result is visible) has slowed down”?

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1 month 20 days ago
jorimt
Author
jorimt

But doesn’t fps (and low frame time) directly affect input lag?

No, because your inputs are relative to the currently achievable average framerate.

I think you’re confusing responsiveness with input latency, which aren’t mutually exclusive.

it is believed that the higher the fps (and lower the frame time), the more often frames replace each other, and therefore the less time is allocated to display one frame, and therefore the faster a new frame with a new input result will start to be displayed.

A higher average framerate + refresh rate will increase the amount of updates per second, and hence increase responsiveness, but input latency will offset the delivery of any given average framerate/maximum physical refresh rate ratio so it is out of sync with your inputs at x(ratio), more or less depending on the amount of buffering.

The average frametime determines the minimum native latency there is between updates, so hypothetically, assuming there is zero added buffering, if you’re playing at x(FPS) average, your inputs will reflect every x(ms) of that average.

That’s not input latency, that’s the most frequent amount of updates your achievable average framerate allows.

Input latency is when you have the above and then further delay delivery of each rendered frame with buffering.

I.E. higher average frametime gives you less updates per second, while input latency causes offset delivery of those updates on top of that.

And isn’t it true that “at the moment of unstable frame lag (for example, a jump from 5 ms to 30 ms), we essentially get additional input lag, since the delivery of the next frame (on which the new input result is visible) has slowed down”?

Frametime spikes can’t strictly be considered input latency due directly to extra buffering, but a complete halt of new frame information, where there are no new inputs to reflect (until it clears up), which can happen with or without what we traditionally refer to as input latency.

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1 month 19 days ago
dpawelcz
Member
dpawelcz

I’m having an awful time trying to get Street Fighter 6 feeling good on my Zephyrus G14 gaming laptop. It has a 120hz OLED screen. I swear in game it doesn’t feel like its getting 120hz, and feels input laggy.
The game is locked at 60fps, and it feels as if its running at 60hz. Outside the game i’ve confirmed im running at 120hz on the display. I have gsync ON and vsync ON in the nvidia control panel. I’ve also noticed that no matter what, sf6 starts with vsync on in the settings and i have to turn it off every time manually. I suspect that might be the issue.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated

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1 month 22 days ago
jorimt
Author
jorimt

The game is locked at 60fps, and it feels as if its running at 60hz.

That’s essentially because it still is 60Hz, since with VRR, framerate (within the physical refresh rate) = variable refresh rate, so at 60 FPS 120Hz, VRR will refresh the display 60 times per second.

I.E. 60 FPS 120Hz VRR will look like 60FPS 60Hz V-SYNC, but with latency levels similar to 60 FPS 120Hz no sync.

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1 month 20 days ago
wpDiscuz

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